Page 134 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

A Pneumatic Community
By being filled with the Spirit, the church became a pneumatic
community. Pneumatic means having to do with the Holy Spirit. A
distinguishing characteristic of the church is that it is a community
of people in whom God’s Spirit dwells—and upon whom His Spirit
rests. Pentecost was the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the
church (Acts 2:1–4). Even today, God will pour out His Spirit on any
church that will seek His face and commit themselves to His mission
(2:20, 39; 5:32).

As a Spirit-anointed and empowered community, the church is called to:

• Be baptized in the Holy Spirit (Mark 9:1; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4–8;
Ephesians 5:18).
• Preach the gospel with power (Acts 2:14–39; 4:33; 6:10).
• Receive guidance and direction from the Spirit of God (Acts 8:29;
10:19; 13:2; 16:6–10).
• Demonstrate the presence of the Kingdom through “the power of
signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit” (Romans 15:19).
• Reap a harvest of souls (Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14).
• Lead others into the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38–39;
8:17–18; 9:17–18; 10:44–46; 19:1–6).
• Take the gospel to all nations (Acts 1:8).

A Prophetic Community

The church is also a prophetic community. A prophetic community is a
group of people who are filled with the Spirit and declare the message of
God by the Spirit’s power and inspiration. At Pentecost, Peter announced
that the church would be such a community:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see
visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants,
both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and
they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17–18, emphasis added)

On that day, the Old Testament hope that all of God’s people would
be prophets became a reality:

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